Ballad Of The Yarmouth Castle

Well, it's four o'clock in the afternoon
And the anchors have been weighed
From Miami to Nassau,
She's bound across the waves

She'll be headin' south through Biscayne Bay
Into the open sea
Yarmouth Castle, she's a-dyin' and don't know it

Now the many years she's been to sea
She's seen the better times
She gives a groan of protest
As they cast away her lines

And the grumble of her engines
And the rust along her spine
Tells the Castle she's too old to be sailin'

But the sands run out within her heart
A tiny spark glows red
It smoulders through the evening
There's laughter overhead

Now the men are served, and the cards are dealt
And the drinks are passed around
Deep within the fire starts a-burnin'

Now it's midnight on the open sea
And the moon is shining bright
Some people join the party
And others say good-night

There's many who are sleeping now
It's been a busy day
And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin'

"Oh Lord," she groans, "I'm burning!"
"Let someone understand!"
But her silent plea is wasted
In the playin' of the band

Everybody's dancin' on her deck
And they're havin' such a time
Then a voice says
"Shut up and deal, I'm losin'"

Deep within the Yarmouth Castle
The fire begins to glow
It leaps into the hallways
And climbs and twists and grows

And the paint she wore to keep her young
Oh Lord, how well it burns
And soon that old fire is a-ragin'

Up beneath the bridge it's climbin' fast
The captain stands aloft
He calls up to the boatswain, 'n' says
"Boatswain, we are lost"

For the ragged hoses in the racks
No pressure do they hold
And the people down below
Will soon be dyin'

All amidships, oh she's blazin' now
It's spreadin' fore and aft
The people are a-scramblin'
As the fire blocks their path

The evil smoke surrounds them,
And they're fallin' in their tracks
And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin'

Oh then the ship, Bahama Star
Comes steamin' through the night
She sees the Castle blazin'
And 'tis a terrible sight

"Jump down, jump down!" the captain cries
"We'll save you if we can!"
Then the paint on his funnels is a-fryin'

"God help the ones who sleep below
And cannot find the way!
Thank God for those we've rescued
Upon this awful day."

Now the heroes, they are many,
But the times are growin' slim
And now from stern to bow
She's a-blazin'

Oh the Yarmouth Castle's moanin'
She's cryin' like a child.
You can hear her if you listen
Above the roar so wild

Is she cryin' for the ones who lie
Within her molten sides?
Or cryin' for herself, I'm a-wonderin'

But the livin' soon were rescued
The ones who lived to tell
From the Star they watched her
As she died there in the swells

Like a toy ship on a mill pond
She burned all through the night
Then slipped 'neath the waves
In the mornin'

Gordon Lightfoot

The Reuben James


Have you heard of the ship called the good Reuben James?
Run by hard fighting men both of honor and of fame.
She flew the Stars and Stripes of the land of the free,
but tonight she's in her grave at the bottom of the sea.

[Chorus:]
Oh, tell me, what were their names, tell me, what were their names?
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James? (Repeat [Chorus]

One hundred men went down to their dark and watery graves.
When that good ship went down, only forty-four were saved.

'Twas the last day of October they saved forty-four from the dark, icy water of that cold Iceland shore.

It was there in the dark of that cold and watery night.
They watched for the U-boats and they waited for a fight.
Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion's roar.
They lay the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor.

Many years have passed since those brave men are gone.
Those cold, icy waters, they're still and they're calm.
Many years have passed and still I wonder why the worst of men must fight and the best of men must die!

Racing in the Street


I got a 65 Chevy with a 396, Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor
She's waiting tonight down in the parking lot outside the Seven-Eleven store
Me and my partner Sonny built her straight out of scratch and he rides with me from town to town
We only run for the money, we got no strings attached, we shut 'em up and then we shut 'em down

Well, tonight, tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em all out of their seats
We'll come on out around the world
We're going racing in the street
Go!

Well, we take all the action we can meet and we cover all the northeast state
When the strip shuts down we run 'em in the street from the back roads to the turnpike gates
Well, now, some guys they do it for the money, other guys do it 'cause they don't know what else they can do
Well, there just ain't nothing left at home, I'm tired of waking up in a world that somebody else owns

Well, tonight, tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em off in my first heat
Hey, summer's here and the time is right
To racing in the street
I met her on the strip three years ago in a Camaro with this dude from L.A.
Well, I blew that Camaro off my back and I stole that girl away
Now there's wrinkles around my baby's eyes and she cries herself to sleep at night
Hey, when I come home, the house is dark, she sighs, "Baby did you make it all right"

She sits on the porch of her daddy's house, but after all her pretty dreams were torn
She stares off alone into the night with the eyes of one who hates for just being born
For all the blown-off strangers and hot rod angels stumbling through this promised land
Tonight my baby and me we're gonna ride to the sea and wash these sins off our hands

Well, tonight, tonight the strips just right
I wanna blow 'em off in my first heat
Well, come on out, the time is right
We're going racing in the street

Bruce Springsteen

McLean's Welcome

Come o'er the stream, Charlie, dear Charlie, brave Charlie;
Come o'er the stream, Charlie, and dine with McLean;
And though you be weary, we'll make your heart cheery,
And welcome our Charlie, and his loyal train.
We'll bring down the track deer, we'll bring down the black steer,
The lamb from the braken, and doe from the glen,
The salt sea we'll harry, and bring to our Charlie
The cream from the bothy and curd from the pen.

Come o'er the stream, Charlie, dear Charlie, brave Charlie; Come o'er the stream, Charlie, and dine with McLean;
And you shall drink freely the dews of Glen-Sheerly, That stream in the starlight when kings do not ken, And
deep be your meed of the wine that is red,
To drink to your sire, and his friend the McLean.

Come o'er the stream, Charlie, dear Charlie, brave Charlie; Come o'er the stream, Charlie, and dine with
McLean; O'er heath-bells shall trace you the maids to embrace you, And deck your blue bonnet with flowers of
the brae; And the loveliest Mari in all Glen M'Quarry Shall lie in your bosom till break of the day.

Come o'er the stream, Charlie, dear Charlie, brave Charlie;
Come o'er the stream, Charlie, and dine with McLean;
If aught will invite you, or more will delight you,
'Tis ready, a troop of our bold Highlandmen,
All ranged on the heather, with bonnet and feather,
Strong arms and broad claymores, three hundred and ten!

James Hogg

To the Emigrants

I rested by the silent Firth
Horizon-less in autumn mist
Save where he sun in golden mirth
The far off waters kissed.

And suddenly there came a wave
That spake in surges at my foot
And ceased - a messenger that gave
His message and was mute.

Across the sea a glance I cast -
A sea all glassy smooth again-:
A great grey ship went gliding past -
I read my message then.

I blest her as she passed me by:
O may the gleam of western gold
That lies before them where they fly
A happy omen hold!

Absent Friends

My heart absorbs me more and more;
My world of friendship narrows in.
The new I hardly care to win;
The old are fewer than of yore.

But in the space from eve till morn,
Affection, cramped upon the nest,
In wider ranging finds a rest;
And I am not so friend-forlorn.

For never one have I forgot;
Their voices in my heart I hear;
I am myself their souvenir;
We shaped each other, thought with thought.

At times a merry meet we hold:
At times upon my mind is left
That aftermath of the bereft,
Regret for kindness overcold.

New flowers on April's breast they see,
New stars about the winter moon:
And new delights may change the tune
That keeps the old refrain for me.

If friendship there has changed its stream
To feed the homestead where they live,
If they forget, I must forgive:
Yet rather will I trust my dream;

My dream, that nightly soars above
The barriers of time and space,
To watch their gaze upon my face
Till recognition leaps to love.

Walter Wingate

MacCrimmon's Lament


Round Coolin's peak the mist is sailing,
The banshee croons her note of wailing,
Mild blue eyne with sorrow are streaming
For him that shall never return, MacCrimmon!

The breeze on the brae is mournfully blowing!
The brook in the hollow is plaintively flowing,
The warblers, the soul of the groves, are moaning,
For MacCrimmon that's gone, with no hope of returning!

The tearful clouds the stars are veiling,
The sails are spread, but the boat is not sailing,
The waves of the sea are moaning and mourning
For MacCrimmon that's gone to find no returning!

No more on the hill at the festal meeting
The pipe shall sound with echo repeating,
And lads and lasses change mirth to mourning
For him that is gone to know no returning!

No more, no more, no more for ever,
In war or peace, shall return MacCrimmon;
No more, no more, no more for ever
Shall love or gold bring back MacCrimmon!

Celtic Symphony

It was far across the sea, when the devil got a hold of me
He wouldn't set me free, so he kept me soul for ransom
na na na na na...

I'm a sailor man from Glasgow town,
I've sailed this world around and round
He's the meanest thing that I have found
In all me days of wandering
na na na na na...

Here we go again; we're on the road again.
We're on the road again; we're on the way to paradise.
We love the jungle deep, that's where the lion sleeps
For then those evil eyes, they have no place in paradise
Graffiti on the walls, just as the sun was going down
I see graffiti on the walls - for the Celts! For the Celts!
Graffiti on the walls says we're magic, we're magic,
Graffiti on the wall...

It says oh ah up the 'RA, say ooh ah up the 'RA.

We went thru each jungle deep
For the paradise that we did seek
twas no trip for the weak
We’re waltzing with the natives.

Around in circles every way,
He turned to me and he did say,
"I think you're leading me astray,
I want your soul, me boyo!"
na na na na na...

Here we go again; we're on the road again.
We're on the road again; we're on the way to paradise.
We love the jungle deep, that's where the lion sleeps
For then those evil eyes, they have no place in paradise.

Graffiti on the walls, just as the sun was going down
I see graffiti on the walls - for the Celts! For the Celts!
Graffiti on the walls says we're magic, we're magic,
Graffiti on the wall...

It says oh ah up the 'RA, say ooh ah up the 'RA.

Brennan on the Moor

'Tis of a brave young highwayman
This story I will tell
His name was Willie Brennan
And in Ireland he did dwell
It was on the Kilwood Mountain
He commenced his wild career
And many a wealthy nobleman
Before him shook with fear


Chorus:
It was Brennan on the moor
Brennan on the moor
Bold, brave and undaunted
Was young Brennan on the moor

One day upon the highway
As young Willie he went down
He met the mayor of Cashiell
A mile outside of town
The mayor he knew his features
And he said, Young man, said he
Your name is Willie Brennan
You must come along with me

Chorus

Now Brennan's wife had gone to town
Provisions for to buy
And when she saw her Willie
She commenced to weep and cry
Said, Hand to me that ten penny
As soon as Willie spoke
She handed him a blunderbuss
From underneath her cloak

Chorus

Now with this loaded blunderbuss
The truth I will unfold
He made the mayor to tremble
And he robbed him of his gold
One hundred pounds was offered
For his apprehension there
So he, with horse and saddle
To the mountains did repair

Chorus

Now Brennan being an outlaw
Upon the mountains high
With cavalry and infantry
To take him they did try
He laughed at them with scorn
Until at last 'twas said
By a false-hearted woman
He was cruelly betrayed

Scotland the Brave

Hark when the night is falling,
Hear! hear the pipes are calling,
Loudly and proudly calling,
Down thro' the glen.
There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping,
High as the spirits of the old Highland men.

Chorus
Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever,
Scotland the brave.

High in the misty Highlands
Out by the purple islands,
Brave are the hearts that beat
Beneath Scottish skies.
Wild are the winds to meet you,
Staunch are the friends that greet you,
Kind as the love that shines from fair maidens' eyes.

Chorus

Far off in sunlit places
Sad are the Scottish faces,
Yearning to feel the kiss
Of sweet Scottish rain.
Where the tropics are beaming
Love sets the heart a-dreaming,
Longing and dreaming for the hameland again.